Sony pulls PS3 game over Islam fears

Passages from holy text delay LittleBigPlanet

In the latest example of PC sensibilities gone overboard, Sony has recalled a new PS3 game over fears it might offend Muslims.

The supposed autumn blockbuster LittleBigPlanet was due to go on sale this week, but has been withdrawn from stockists and put back to 28 October.

Song lyrics

That's because one of the songs used in part of the game contains words from the Qur'an. Sony says it will remove the song before redistributing the game.

Writing on the PlayStation blog, Patrick Seybold of SCEA explains: "During the review process prior to the release of LittleBigPlanet, it has been brought to our attention that one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Qur'an."

Knee-jerk

He concludes: "We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offense that this may have caused."

Nonetheless, the move is being seen as an overreaction. One member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said: "Many Americans already feel that Muslims want to censor everything."